The Australian Geologist - Geological Society of Australia

Diagrams or no
diagrams – that is the
question
Accompanying my book review on V diagrams
in this TAG issue I would like to
offer this comment because there is still
some ‘intellectual denial’ (better ‘antagonism’)
towards Barry Jones’ diagrams
which were derogatively named by several
in the media and others in the public
arena (guess who!) as being ‘spaghetti’-
like because of their slight complexity.
On each opportunity that arises I am
defending Barry’s flow-chart-like models
(or illustrations or graphs) – although
readers of this newsletter are quite familiar
with the fact that all professionals in
any knowledge domain use numerous
types of diagrams to support their text
descriptions via illustrations (yes, a triple
tautology). The UN, UNESCO, and as I
pointed out all scientists (and including
earth scientists, climatologists, biologists,
ecologists, environmentalists, engineers,
health experts, criminologists, among others),
and many in the arts-cum-humanities
(eg economists, demographers, rural
and urban planners, politicians) use such
‘spaghetti-like’ diagrams to highlight simple
to more complex interrelationships
between factors or variables.
I have gone to meetings of so-called think
tanks here in Sydney and when I pointed
out the ‘ignorance of some journalists
who have for numerous days during a
two-week period derided Barry Jones diagrams
as ludicrous’ the opinion of at least
one self-styled humanity’s educated
‘leader’ still insists that the diagrams
were/are nonsense! No wonder the world
has extreme difficulties to solve its problems!
Yet, note that Barry is one of the
highest ranking Australian public intellectuals
(Nile, 2006). See my book review in
this TAG issue. Incidentally, in a 2006
Phillip Adams’ interview Barry mentioned
that he first got the idea of using interrelationship-modeling,
mind-map-style,
diagrams from the books by Joyce
Wycoff.
Recently, I have read about the concept of
‘science intelligence’. Remember the books
about ‘emotional intelligence’ which was
then broadened to various others types of
‘intelligences’ (far beyond the seven basic
intelligences by Gardner’s famous books,
eg ), such as communicational, intellectual,
political, social, financial, investment,
etc. intelligences Well, it seems to
tackle the world’s dilemmas all leaders
ought to be familiar with ‘reasoning,
problem-solving, cognitive intelligence’ to
be able to think logically and fairly rather
than destructively. Our youth needs role
models and genuine leaders, not sarcastic
commentators!
It is rather interesting that just recently
the Graduate School of Management,
University of NSW, established an
Accelerated Learning Laboratory to develop
a new frontier to find ways to fasttrack
emerging leaders (Tarrant, 2006). I
submitted a list of questions and proposals,
one of which was to enhance the
teaching of problem-solving techniques
via various modern cognitive techniques,
including the use of various diagrams and
mind maps, ie including the ‘Barry Jones’
infamous spaghetti types’!
Any comments!
REFERENCES
Nile, R 2006. First cohort for thought, The
Australian Literature Review, Explorations,
October 4, 2006, p 3 and 23.
Gardner, H 1991. The Unschooled Mind: how
children think and how schools should teach,
Fontana Press, Harper Collins Publishers.
Tarrant, D 2006. Leadership learning gets a
move on, UNIKEN, University of New South
Wales, September 2006, p 12.
KARL WOLF
Geological heritage
news in TAG
The Standing Committee for Geological
Heritage was formed in 1974 and has
now been working within the Society for
over 30 years–the oldest surviving Stand=
ing Committee after Stratigraphic Names.
One of the roles of the Convener of the
Standing Committee, as stated in the
GSA’s Heritage Policy, is to see that
“Information is also regularly supplied for
publication in TAG.
So it has been good to see a regular
Heritage column by Susan White, the
Standing Committee’s convener, in the
last four issues of TAG. However, it is not
correct to suggest (TAG 140 September
2006 p 3) that Geological Heritage issues
have been “…long neglected until recently…”
in the Society’s newsletter.
A look at heritage-related articles, notes,
letters and photos in the immediately preceding
issues of TAG shows this clearly:136
September 2005: News from the
Divisions – Victoria: Geological Heritage
Subcommittee; plus note on the collapse
of one of the Twelve Apostles.
135 June 2005: note on Oz GeoParks;
News: ‘Establishing the Ediacaran Period’;
review of Rocks and Landscapes of the
National Parks of Southern Queensland.
133 December 2004: Cover Story: the new
book “Rocks and Landscapes of the
National Parks of Southern Queensland”.
132 September 2004: Letter to the Editor
‘Two current geological heritage problems
in Victoria’.
131 June 2004: note on National
Geoparks Initiatives…Geological Heritage
Promotion; Book review of A Natural
History of Australian Caves.
130 March 2004: article ‘The Bacchus
Marsh Council Trench’.
129 December 2003: Letter to the Editor
(Standing Committee for Geological
Heritage – history and the future).
127 June 2003: Cover photo and article
‘The Pilbara Region of Western Australia:
landscape and heritage.’
126 March 2003: Cover photo, plus article
‘Landscape and Geological Heritage: a
Baragwanath seminar sponsored by GSA
heritage workers.’
125 December 2002: ‘Lark Quarry
Conservation Park, Winton Qld’; book
review of Representative Geosites of
Central Europe.
Looking beyond TAG, the Society’s heritage
workers have since the 1960s provided
GSA members and others with
much information on the Society’s heritage
activities, by the presentations of
papers at Geological Society meetings, the
regular reports to Council and to
Divisional Committees, and also by pre-
48 | TAG December 2006